Yes, and as you may have surmised, the blog hasn't been one of them this summer. Life, however, has been, and we've been up to lots! There was a garden (which is still in partial production, with kale, leeks, celeriac, turnips, carrots, beets, herbs, and swiss chard still churning out the goods):





Yes, you'll notice that I'm posting photos of a beautifully green stage of the garden, long before the summer heat and maturity took its "brown" toll. It certainly looks nothing like this now!

There were also three fabulous hiking trips to three different provincial parks. On Canada Day, we celebrated our nation by getting out and enjoying some of it at Taylor Head Provincial Park on the Eastern Shore. Lunch's view on the head:



In September we trekked up to the Northumberland Strait to Pictou and enjoyed a hike along the beach, a dip in the water, and several sightings of the comings and goings of the ferry to P.E.I.. (That's the ferry in the background.)



And in October, we explored the other side of the Bay of Fundy and hiked along the Devil's Bend Trail along the Economy River to the falls. Some of our gorgeous autumn scenery:



The season also involved house repairs, lots of food processing, clothes on the line, ukulele playing, and books on the picnic blanket. Oh, and some knitting. The only knitting I remembered to capture on film were two projects that used Garnstudio's "Delight". Some socks:



And a pillow for our living room in a different colorway than the socks. The photos below show both sides of the pillow, which are, amazingly, both knit in the same shade for each side, just started at different points in the color repeat:





And now that I've taken the photo, we're free to get the pillow form all lumpy from use. What have you been up to?

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I always think I've been writing more than I have, because I'm always thinking up posts in my head. Turns out that they've only been in my head, though, because two and a half months have gone by without an update here. Ahem. How do you do a recap of such a long stretch of time? Let's give it a whirl:

There was lots of cool and wet weather, which delayed garden planting. We finally had some warmth, but had to wait quite a while for the ground to dry out, and consequently, even now, only have about half to two-thirds of the garden actually planted. It's been raining cats and dogs again yesterday and today, so once that dries (fingers crossed it's quickly), we'll be able to get the rest of the crops sown. Hopefully the weeds won't have beat us to it so that they have to come out first. I'm tellin' you, there's nothin' like a garden to knock back any overconfidence you have in yourself.

Visitors from across Canada came and camped and gave us a leg up on all sorts of various house and yard chores, as well as spoiled us royally. Mother's Day and a special birthday were celebrated. Dance recitals were given. Kitchen renos dragged on and on and on... and still aren't done, though it's easier now to see what might emerge in the end.

And knitting. Well, it progressed slowly as I finished up an embroidery project that's been on the go for three and a half years. Whew. Forgot to take a picture for posterity after all that, too. But I finished off a matching sweater:



And a pair of Breeze anklets in Mandarin Petit cotton for a birthday girl:



And a cute little Rio Arriba crocheted hat (scroll down the page on the link to see pattern details) in Patagonia thick-and-thin chunky cotton for a neighbor's new little one:



Oh! And I had an opportunity to participate in a dish cloth swap through Down to Earth, and was paired up with a lovely stitcher from England, Elizabeth, who blogs over at www.makinggooduse.typepad.co.uk and creates all sorts of fabulous repurposed items. Not only did she send me a couple of fantastic dishcloths (one of which featured her own design of a knife, spoon, and fork), but she also included a gorgeous bag made out of a pillowcase and embellished with a vintage doily, and a cute card made from an old kids' book. Lots of fun and such a treat to get the parcel!



I'm hoping I won't be such a stranger to my own blog, especially as I'm halfway through another pair of socks in a new yarn for my shop, but life just gets so full, and dial-up internet is such a pain, that I make no guarantees! Send me a note if you'd like to say hi!

Honestly. I think March is having an identity crisis, since it came in more like a lamb, and has been a lion pretty much ever since. Not sure what that means in the long run (except a really great maple season, which is welcome news for all us syrup lovers). We have had some really lovely days, and we've also had some very rainy days, some very snowy days, and some very cold days, too. Pretty much all over the place. Me, I've been trying to inject some sunshine into the house with a (slow-going) kitchen reno, and I have been successful at picking and painting yellow walls. (The picking of yellow paint? Not a fun chore. I consider myself good with color, but I tried 7 or 8 colors of yellow before I settled on one... and even then wasn't sure-although I love it, now! Be warned... it's easier to just pick a different color than to pick a color of yellow you can live with on all your walls in all lights.)



We still have some cupboard doors to make and paint, the cupboards themselves to prime and paint, all the trim (and there's A LOT) to paint, a chandelier to install and a fan to move, the ceiling to paint (yes, I know it should have been done first, but we had a problem with how a current light fixture is fixed to the ceiling, a delay with a replacement, and an inability to deal with no light fixture in its spot in the meantime)... then an island to rip out and rebuild or purchase, and a floor to refinish. Gulp. Baby steps.

But what you really want to see is knitting, right? Another pair of socks:



I still love to knit with self-striping sock yarn. (Have you noticed that I've been trying to finish at least one pair a month?)

And a pair of slippers for someone who cannot do without this particular slipper pattern on his feet. For the gift stash.



I've also got a pair of Breeze anklets partly done for a spring birthday, and another chunky sweater partly seamed as a "just because" gift. There should be some machine sewing coming up in the near future, and hopefully some more spring/summer kid knitting. But otherwise, it's getting to that crazily-full outdoor season again, and it starts with pruning and the burning of piles from last year. I'm fully expecting to become intimately reacquainted with all sorts of muscles that I'd forgotten I possessed. Which, of course, is a good thing.

Shhh... Don't say it too loud, or the jig may be up, but I think spring is on its way! We went from snowstorms to patches of green grass in blink of an eye, and I can't help but pick up the needles and mirror the changing seasons with my projects.

Socks in the palest spring green:



These are my Socks a la Campagne, which are the original DK weight version of the "Uptown Boot Socks" I did for Interweave. I like this weight of sock... heavy enough for some "oomph", without being so thick you can't fit them into anything. These are a nice choice with Fine Merino DK, though I had knit the original prototype in Jo Sharp DK. (And yes, these are the finished pair of the original prototype sock, only 9 years later... Why do you ask?) A good sock to show off in Birks, if you're so inclined.

But when it really seems that the sun finally has some power and your mind wanders to garden plans, your knitting may evolve to this:



Ain't it cute? I haven't knit one of these Fiber Trends hats for a few years, and I have just the perfect cotton/acrylic blend yarn in black and yellow sitting around in the shop, with the cutest little nephew who will be one in May just sitting around waiting for this to adorn his noggin. Another gift into the stash, and I get to quench some of that spring feeling both at the same time. (Let me know if your spring knitting needs one of these, too... pattern and yarn both in stock.)

Oh, but where are the promised pictures of the finished cardigan, you say? Foiled by lack of buttons. I need BIG buttons, and haven't been able to get to a place that sells 'em, yet (and I don't have anything that big in the shop), which keeps me from finishing the buttonhole band. (Just in case I don't find buttons I like in the size I think I'd like to put on the sweater, I don't want to make the holes until I have the buttons in my hot little hands.) This weekend, I hope! And no, I'm not making excuses!

I've been busy around here, hot on the heels of New Year's Resolutions, and finishing up all sorts of projects. A very belated anniversary gift of embroidered linen tablecloth and crocheted centerpiece mat:



A multidirectional scarf in Noro Kureyon and Lett Lopi for (gasp!) myself:



A cute chunky sweater for my kiddo (very cute, simple, easy-to-knit pattern from Sirdar... I think I have a couple of these leaflets left, if you're interested):



And some men's socks for the "gift cache" for the upcoming year:



The light outside messed with the color... they're really navy blue with a light blue tweed for contrast. It's nice to knit a sock in a solid color occasionally, just spicing things up with a stripe or fairisle band or two. Makes for good movie-watching or conversation knitting (as in, you can pay attention to either of the afore-mentioned and still get some good progress made on your knitting).

I'm almost done my replacement cardigan for the sob story one from my January entry... maybe a little angst can really light the fire of motivation? Pictures soon

And in other news around here, it's all about a simple paintjob in the kitchen, that has (you guessed it) turned into a major drywall job before thoughts of paint even enter the picture. Sigh. The push is on to get things done before it's outside season again! Luckily for indoor renovation season, nights still look like this:

I know, I know. I’ve been AWOL. Thanks to everyone’s concerned emails, but really I didn’t drop off the face of the earth. September and October for us, as for many of you, means intense harvesting and preserving. There were also birthdays, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and a fun family visit. Then the holiday preparations began, and well, life has been deliciously full. I went through the camera, and it seems we rarely pulled it out past Halloween, so I don’t have a lot to show you from all those months. There were knitted gloves, socks, scarves; and sewn pants, holiday gift wrapping, and dog beds... HONEST! But I did manage to take a couple of photos more recently...

Some angora/lambswool bed socks for cold winter nights:



I know “bed socks” seems like such an old fashioned idea. But the kids that received these wear socks to bed each night by preference, and by making socks that are part of the “pyjamas”, we avoid the dirty socks worn by day in the sheets. Besides... rabbit fur on your feet at night? Posh.

A lovely ruffled scarf out of the Katia Rizos yarn I brought in this December:



This was an interesting knit, the yarn being a combo of both a ribbon and railroad yarn. Let me know if you’re interested in any, as I don’t have much stock left!

And now, the really depressing photo, the documentation of my disappointing discovery of the day. (Whew... talk about alliteration!) Well, first of all, remember this, the sweater I started knitting myself way back, oh, the summer before last?



I took this photo from the blog entry from Sept. 16, 2009. (Gulp.) This cardigan was intended for me, to be worn inside in winter for my own chilly self. The sweater is interestingly constructed from sleeve cuff to sleeve cuff at the top. After this is knit, you block the upper section, sew up the sleeve seams and pick up around the front and back and knit the body down. Cool, huh? Well, I’ve had the whole upper section knit since about this time last year. It’s just been waiting for a blocking before I continued on. (The fact that I just got around to blocking it today maybe tells you something about how much I LOVE to block.) Well, fresh on my new year’s laurels, I’ve been picking up unfinished items and ticking them off my list. So. To the blocking. Everything went fine, until I got to the last little bit. Have a look at my blocked piece and see if you can pick out what I horrifyingly discovered:



Mmhmm. You betcha. See that little jig at the front opening on what would be my left side while wearing the sweater? And can you see the difference in size of neck opening between right and left sides? How in the world did I do the neck shaping on the WRONG end of those rows???? This sweater was knit from the sleeve cuff on your left up to the neck, I then cast on those stitches right before the goofed shaping and worked all the way from there down to the cuff on your right. So to fix this little boo boo, I would have to rip out an entire sleeve and one side; essentially half of this sweater. Now. I’m asking you. Considering my track record with this sweater so far, what are the chances that I will ever get this done, now that I have to rip out half of what is completed thus far and reknit just to get to this stage, which has taken me about a year and a half to reach? I’m thinking that my motivation is ZERO. I’m sure you all know how projects for yourself get shuffled aside when birthdays or other occasions come around, and knitting projects for others take priority. To have to jump this hurdle to me seems insurmountable. I don’t even know if I have the energy to rip it out. I’ll tell you what, though. I would much rather pick out something new, so I think that’s just what I’ll do. RIP Lett Lopi Sweater; on to the NEW!